Added: 5 years ago
From: bawdesign
Views: 243,229
Sort by time | Sort by thread (beta)

Link to this comment:

Share to:

All Comments (317)

Sign In or Sign Up now to post a comment!
  • didnt that car have an axel in the back that allowed the car to raise up in the rear right before it pealed off?

  • FYI, the 3.8 Turbo was NOT in the Syclone and Typhoon, they had the 4.3 Turbo AWD setup.

  • @gnx537 Then apparently you dont know how to drive it. My almost bone stock Grand National is as fast or faster than a LS1 Camaro/Trans Am or a Mustang.

  • My life would be complete if I owned one of the 547 GNX's made. You simply cannot beat that motor. It's fucking awesome!

  • lol and it came in any color as long as it was black.

  • 8 people wish they lived in USA

  • All black, very black, SO MUCH BLACK!

  • Even Import lovers have mad mad respect the GNX

  • You guys should watch my vid of the Gn vs a vett twin turbo

  • fuck GM for killing this unique car!!!!!

  • I had two GNX's. One I bought and one my brother bought. Both new. They were cool but they are overblown on performance. My brothers GNX even with a performance chip was doing low 14 sec 1/4 miles. I even raced a friends GN in my GNX (stock) and was only beating him by 31 hp. Yep 245 vs 276! I liked the car for what it was but let's get real here. They weren't that fas. Now about my 1970 stage one Buick GS... THAT is fast! Just my experience.

  • Their z smth under the dashboard to the left when u pull it out the car can go for 128 miles in H.....last muscle car <3

  • Available in any color you want as long as its black

  • I've seen only one of these in Canada my whole life, and it was a Grand National in black. That was one of the most beautiful muscle cars I've ever seen. Really was a shock and a shame they didn't continue to manufacture it. It gave Buick a different view in my eyes.

  • The GNX was in reality 300 hp as is stated.

  • A lot of Police forces got them for speed enforcement in the states Saw more than one chase down a speeder on I 95

  • i have this fast as fuck

  • Did he say only 547?!!!!!

  • awesome car!!

    

  • if you think about it, know one has really beat this car, and im comparing 1987 to 2011, i know we have powerful cars , but back in 84, you just didnt mess with this and the syclone and the typhoon, we had it all(gm), and it was faster the corvette

  • Just saying but.... 1:41 How come they had CRT Monitors in 1987?

  • @AboutFormulaOne plasma and lcd werent around then

  • the last true muscle car

  • Buick needs to revive it just like Ford, Dodge and Chevy have done with their old muscles

    This is my dream classic car, because We're pretty much the same age

  • @ronniepage

    I think GM should do some revisions with their cars. Sure it'd be great to have a Grand National, but wouldn't it be great to have a Monte Carlo, Cutlass and Grand Prix too? Back then Those cars shared a lot of the same designs but each had it's own personality, Somehow the 90's managed to lose the charisma that went with the cars. I mean the Viper pulled it off, but aside from that what else was there? The muscle car revival wasn't as special as it could've been.

  • omg :( i wish they still made them! fuck i want one. how i love my American cars

  • this car feautres in GTA SAN ANDREAS my favourite car in the game by far, they are so sexy, no thats not the right word, just sensational.

  • Great review for a great car! One error, however. The Syclones and Typhoons did not have the Buick V6. They were a turbocharged early variant of the 4.3 Vortech and they had a liquid intercooler system.

  • "as the Buick image was redirected to plush comfort for senior citizens"...boy, ain't that the truth. There's been nothing like it since.

  • great car

  • Buick should've been done away with right after that.

  • 5 people are ricers

  • why the hell are us americans so damn excited about a v-6 turbo when foreign companies use turbos all the time??? now we think a v-8 is THEE best and thats not always the case... if only america (or specifically gm) had kept devoloping forced induction besides superchargers then we might be a contender by now!

  • @stl314scorpio well you have to remember the term MUSCLE CAR. don't forget american muscle baby!!!!

  • @stl314scorpio Contender? Where's your Corvette, the best value hands down for performance of ANY car. Where's your SS Camaro, SRT Challenger? Shelby Mustang. How about a plain old Mustang GT with 400 hp, no turbo OR supercharger.

    Know what you are talking about or shut the fuck up.

  • @stl314scorpio Contender?

  • @stl314scorpio I think Ford is a contender with their ecoboost V6 and soon to be released ecoboost I4. GM has had success with the 2.0L ecotec as well with both supercharging and now turbo. Even buick has a turbo 4 banger now.

  • Buddy Ingersoll ran a Buick turbo V6 Regal in Pro Stock in the 80's and was whuppin' ass. Ford, Chevy and Chrysler V8 mountain motor racers bitched so much they ran him out of sanctioned racing.

  • The Car & Driver "editor and chief" needs to get his history straight -- and fast! What a shame that this planned journey through GM history was literally 95% incorrect. C&D should be ashamed of themselves.

  • Sick...best Buick ever !

  • gnx and mid 90's impalas the ultimate grandpa cars

  • @urbrokenmuse how is a gnx a grandpa car? and the mid 90's impalas were badass, the caprices were granny's car, don't tell me grandpa has an ls1 under his hood...lol

  • @compaqnc6340  LT1.. not LS1

  • its a good thing no welfare babies are going to be able to afford this to donk it out

  • thats the guy from shooting usa

  • i drove one once when i worked at an insurance auction (it was from a dealer that couldn't sell it). though it was a short drive, it loads of fun. it sucked that as an employee i couldn't buy bid on it.

  • anybody who bought one of these GNX should be proud they've own one or still do. Im trying to find an 87 Grand National but there too high. Most of them cost over 30 grand

  • Still crappy cars... big fat underpowered engines, no technology, no road handling, always on the garage lift...

  • @coololds85 there is a place in palatine illinois called american muscle cars. i am a GN fanatic also and they have a few there. one that is heavily modded for 35 and one that is unmolested with about 50k miles for 15K

  • I sat in a GNX two days ago- it was being stored in a machining factory in Chicago. It had about 1/16th inch of dust on the hood. I couldn't believe it when I saw it! There were two other turboed Buick Regals there as well!

  • "as long as it was black ALL BLACK" hahaha funny

    

  • Can anyone tell me for a fact if there were any white factory Grand Nationals,I had someone swear until they turned blue that it wasnt just a white T-Type,I didnt want to start a fight in the Publix parking lot so I dropped it,but black was it I thought

  • @tpen70 the grand national was only advalible in black, except for 1 year (83?) which were black and silver. the buick regal t-type (basicaly a GN in anther color) was advalible in any standard color and was advalible with t-tops.

  • I just bought a low mile 1996 Impala SS, This is next"!!!!

  • what does the Speedo in the GNX go to? i know the Grand National has a totally fake 85 MPH speedo

  • All black, Very black. Really guys, You gotta be black.

  • WTF why buick why not a camaro or corvette they gmc always puts the fast engines in the cars you would never suspect for example the pontiac gtp supercharged why does a family 4 door car need a supercharger?

  • i remember watching this right before they switched "TNN" to "SPIKE"

  • I live in Bowling Green.lol

  • so this is the corvette killer (:

  • Truly an amazing vehicle from the past.

  • My grandpas owns one of these its covered

  • wow we made a car that performs really well and people really like I guess we should only manufacture it for a couple of years. idiots

  • @hemiram04 Thank gms corvette team for that, they complained that the GN's were faster lol

  • @hemiram04 They stopped production of it because Buick changed platforms from rear to front wheel drive because GM wanted them to "modernize" the car line up. The Grand National and GNX wouldn't work with front wheel drive - so they had to stop production, but not by choice. It's all in an interview with one of the Grand Nationals designers, it's here on Youtube in 3 parts called "Grand National and GNX history".

  • @hemiram04

    It was a GM mandate. You can thank GM for discontinuing the 1981 - 1987 G-body Front engine rear wheel drive automobile line. For some reason they thought people wanted ugly clunky front wheel drive 4 cylinder economy cars, I'm not saying they're bad, but its sad that these were the last of the real mid-sized muscle car era (Yes I know that the trans am's and camaros were still produced, but those were pony cars) Anyway, it's a shame that they stopped v8 & v6 RWD coupes in 1987..

  • @FANADICALCOWHEAD the g-body reardrive monte carlo somehow squeezed into the 88 model year (probaly to use up inventory).

  • @hemiram04 bet it would poop on your Ram

  • Thats cool I didn't know that the syclone had the same engine.

  • @pinguin200 It doesn't, it has a turbo 4.3, they were just refering to turbo V6s guess.

  • @pinguin200 it didn't. sy/ty = 4.3 turbo

  • Why didnt they put this engine in the Vette?

  • @Albee213 Because according to GM V6s are not 'manly' enough for Corvettes.

  • @Albee213 when do you see a V6 in a vette?

  • I love this car. 

  • 3 cars i want to own (possibly will) before i die, 1966 Buick Riviera 455 nailhead, 1987 Buick GNX, and 1997 Buick LeSabre, granny car turned muslce, convert to RWD better supercharged 3800 engine totally built to muscle car.

  • @BlooDBank101 That a good wish list, however the nailhead was a 401-425, minor detail :)

  • It was ahead of it's time...and on the wrong side of the Atlantic. :)

  • In the midst of the '80s when so many cars were total crap, and better forgotten, Buick gave us something that still quickens the pulse of car lovers. The Grand National came at a perfect time, and it will be forever an icon.

  • umm yeah ok. There was never any buick V6 in the cyclone and typhoon. It was a 4.3/262 chevrolet V6 in those trucks. Wow, so called know it all "experts" got simple things like that wrong in this clip.

  • man i dream of having that car if i ever get one i will not buy a new car for the rest of my life

  • isnt he the show host of guns and ammo on the outdoor channel?

  • Faster than the Testarossa!.

  • @vfIskullangel in a straight line...

  • I love how at 1:55 it says 276? hp. I dont know what they really had but any turbo motor will gain alot of power just for uncorking it.

  • @donwonjon420 it was rated at 276 from the factory, but made about 305hp in real life. they were very easy to jump it up to 400hp+.

  • lmfao that thing will still give corvettes hell today

  • one on ebay, 88,000 thousand!

  • Our cars are becoming rare. very rare. Mine very rarely even leaves the garage anymore

  • truth be told the interior looks better than most modern cars

  • Car and Driver got one fact wrong. The GMC Ty and Cy trucks were powered by a modified version of the 4.3L 90degree V6 based on the small block chevy 350 and the 3.8L 60degree V6 is based on the aluminum buick V8s of the early 1960s

    The GMC turbo V6 was modded by a contractor with racing pistons, turbo and much more...

    So NO the buick GNX motor wasnt used in a GMC truck. As for the turbo trans am - yes it was in there but in a revised form so it would fit

  • "The Buick GNX is an ax wielding barbarian!" LOL

  • Cannot belive 2 were destroyed during cash for clunkers

  • @HybridPineapple Destroyed durinc cash for Crap? Morons don't know what they got till it's gone

  • This is sad, really, at 3:27. As soon as the picture flipped to the newer body style, my heart fell on the floor.

  • my all time favourite car

  • one thing that truely disgusts me, is I've seen some that where pimped out, repainted, EVEN ENGINE SWAPPED. Disgusting. Why do people absolutely ruin everything they touch?

  • lol I just bought the same magaizne not too long ago that the guy had in his hand I love that magazine Im glad I found the Buick Grand National in good condition

  • How in the world can a automotive magazine make such a mistake like that?  3.8's in Typhoons and syclones, that's laughable.

  • Stupid question and I'm not a car guy so help me out. If the TTA shared motors with the GN, and the TA obviously can handle better and was lighter, why was the GNX faster? And if you had your choice, which would you rather have (rarity aside)?

  • @gostillerz everything you said is true except the part about the TransAm being lighter. I always loved Pontiacs, but when you get to the TransAm, it's so loaded with extras, it gets heavy. That's why Camaros were always a little faster. Not by much, but a little. If you search the web, there is a lot of info that doesn't match up (one site to another) but I found this... both cars weighed around 3500lbs and went 0-60 between 4.75 - 5.4 secs, with 1/4mile times - mid to high 13's... who knows!

  • @gostillerz the intake and exhaust were modified to fit under the hood of the firebird, which restricted the power somewhat.

  • Forced induction Buicks have always been a favorite of mine. I just wish that they had done more with the 3800 Series I, II, and III projects.

    Long live forced induction Buicks!

    -1997 Riviera S/C owner

  • Such an awesome car! This is definitely on my top ten cars I want to own before I die.

  • I just bought this rare magazine cover today

  • I love these cars. I'd trade both my 73 lincoln, and 74 Montego. for one of these cars.

  • if i could pick one 1980s american car to have from the factory,, it would go like this

    1) GNX

    2) 89 Turbo T/a

    3 87  Silver T-type

    4) a 1987 Notchback mustang,, ( sorry, i was always a stang guy) but the Gnx? if you have one now thats in nice shape,, man,, youre a lucky man

  • what cylinder does the buick have?

  • and they wonder why GM is in the shitter!?

    They scrap the cars that actually have panache, and overproduce obsolete poorly union made pieces of shit... they deserve it.

    I can't believe I hesitated to buy one in 2004 for 9 g's in good shape...

  • what the guy in the video meant was that the idea of a turbo charged v6 went on to be used in the syclone and typhoon. and they did use the 4.3L

  • Make a new regal with the 3.6L quad cam v6 from the CTS-V and the Camaro and put a turbo and lsd on it. NEW GEN GNX!

  • Nice Car, but engine not good, its just V6 with turbo, - NOT MOPAR.

  • the 3800 WAS NOT AND I REPEAT NOT! IN THE SYCLONE OR THE TYPHOON THEY HAD A 4.3 WITH A TURBOCHARGER NOT!!! NOT!!! THE 3800

  • While you're at it you might want to add that the 3800 wasn't in GNX's or grand nationals either

  • you make it sound like you are implying that the GNX or Grand National had a 3800, which they did not either

  • absolutely positively correct, sir...

  • LOL I had a numbers matching 428 Boss in a 1962 mustang.

    My pal had a 1983 saleen mustang with a 400 modified FI!

    In "drag racing illustrated(thinking April 1987)" a 5.0 mustang knocked out a 13.98 et with a 2.73 rear gear, the GN ran 13.99, GTA ran 15.05.

    An Iroc ran 14.30 with 305 5speed .

    You could not order a 350 with a manual tranny at that time.

    The driver of the GN was a hefty guy, about 250lbs, but the hate mail the following month...

    First 2 sentences complete BS!! LMFAO

  • You are correct, I cant believe they would say something so stupid.

  • @TheSAABBOY How could C/D make that mistake? Such Bad Info!

  • Typhoon has a 4.3 not a 3.8 Buick

  • WTH is that guy talking about the syclone and typhoon had a 4.3lt V6 which is not even in the same engine family as the GM 3.1, 3.4, 3.8 so car and driver needs to read their own mags better

  • this is a rare beast their worth like 90k these days  FOR A BUICK

  • if lucky cant  you get for less?

  • @hondahp18 only for the 1987 gnx, there the most rare

  • @hondahp18 I have one sitting in my driveway.. My dad owns one

  • im jdm all the way, but the GNX, monte carlo ss, and impala ss are fuckin awesome i also dig the pontiac g8 GM is dope.

    i cant wait till the police g8s get retired so i can buy one. >:D

  • It might only have 6 cylinders but damn this is a muscle car!

  • dont forget this was the countrys fastest car for 87

  • haha i saw one of these traded in under cash for clunkers!

  • and then you here that sombody traded in this in the cash and clunkers program

  • the 4.3 is a 350 without 2 cylinders,same bore and stroke,i have push rods from a 350 in my 4.3

  • Great car...it's a shame they didn't come with a manual transmission. Such a typical GM mistake. Did it with the Monte Carlo SS as well...

  • man does that sound bring back some memories, had many battles with my lx 5.0 , always secretly wanted one! they were way cool cars!

  • where do you get that car and driver issue

  • i got 15000 for it right now hit me back asap

  • Great that in 86 and 87 that have sequential mutipoint fuel injection which didn't become standard for all gas motors till about 1993 which included computer control tranmisions which would have giving better performance! ( obd2 emisions compliance) and ABS!

  • Sucks that "86 & 87" they made them sequential fuel injection which was state of the art, and not tranmission computer controled would made them better performing! And adding ABS braking!

  • wow. 300 horses back then was BIG.

  • how about a new 2010 gnx, i guess the camaro platform or the vette platform maybe:)

  • The GNX was the Terminator Cobra of the 80s. Underrated monsters!

  • Hardly under-rated. GNXs were instant collector cars, can't find a decent example these days for less than 20K. These cars are so gangster its ridiculous, definitely have to own one of these eventually.

  • stupid GM the vette in the 80's was a shit box on wheels the GNX was were it was at. but like every other good idea that GM has they either only make it as a prototype or they ruin it when it becomes a production car. the1989 turbo GP was supposed to have 270 HP but GM didn't want to spend the money on a better tranny so it was only 205 for production and the 3800 serise 2 was supposed to be 300 hp but they maid it 240 hp because it would be almost as fast as the vette.

  • why cater to the old folks?

  • man tha gnx is a beautiful car,jus once i would love to see a gnx and a syclone hit the 1/4mile against each other

  • That guy always had an annoying sounding voice.

  • Grand National was the regular one and the GNX was the rare one.

    If you have a GNX you better watch your head because someone will Rip it off your shoulders to get the car.

    My Dad had a rare 1980 HurstOlds 442 W30 with a 350 Rocket. It was White and Gold. He wished he had ever sold it. :P

  • GM's laughable rating for the grand national should not be taken serious...these cars pumped out a heck of alot more power..

  • what was the red line on the GNX. 8000 rpm seems high for a american v6

  • my fav car

  • 20th anniv T/A, not 25th. and the syclone and typhoon were turbo 4.3's

  • the turbo ta the typhoon and the syclone all used the same motor as the grand national. the 4.3 didnt come out until the mid 90's

  • sorry pdennis93 your right about the trucks but the ta did come with a 3.8

  • The 20th Anniversary T/As were 3.8 Turbo V6 engines rated at 250hp, but the GMCs were 4.3 V6 powered

  • @pdennis93 You are right on all accounts.The 3.8 is very different from the 4.3.The 4.3 is basically a smallblock v8 with two cylinders chopped off.

  • @pdennis93 Correct me if im wrong, but were those 4.3s punched out 3.8s? Or were they 5.7s with 2 cylinders cut off?

  • @TaKeItLiKaMaN A 4.3 is basically a 5.7 minus two cylinders, in fact most of, (if not all) the front of both motors are identical. :)

  • @hobbes110 Howdi, do you mean the Chevy 350 or Buick 350? Handy info. to have lad, thanks for posting

  • @pdennis93 also all-wheel drive as well

  • @pdennis93 it was the same basic block tho.

  • I love cars like this its not very known to people who arent really into cars and its really fast like an urban legend almost I would say this car, the 90's ZR1, and the Terminator Cobras all fall into that category

  • Tears :( this car should come back it would sell quick

  • The American car companies would not have as many problems as they do if they would call on their heritage and make more new retro cars like they have done with the Camaro, Mustang, and Challenger. Roll out a 2010 '57 Chevy, price it reasonably and I guarantee you sell all of them you can make. Dust of the mold for the Buick GN series and the results would be the same I think.

  • This car is pure evil. The devil himself must have been conjured up by the designers to help them realize their wicked dream. To this day, this car has few modern competitors on the strip. It just goes to show the ingenuity of the American spirit to overcome the burdens of the government. I hope we can do it again.

  • ahem, american ingenuity combined with european (.ie.: McLaren) genius.

    America should have opted to follow the european market, instead of the Japanese.

  • @lictor313 the ASC/Mclaren refered to is not the same mclaren that bmw uses. common misconception. different companies, simular name.

  • @lictor313 the ASC/Mclaren refered to is not the same mclaren that mercedes uses. common misconception. different companies, simular name.

  • The GNs were outperforming $100 Porsches and even Ferrari Testarossa.

    Oh and I must say: I loved this car WAY before this darn new Fast and Furious movie. I swear.

  • I will own one of these before I die, and I will own it till I die

  • car and driver are retards. the syclone and typhonn did not have a turbo 3.8, they had a turbo 4.3. i should work for car and driver

  • are you sure? i am almost positive they had a 3.8

  • sorry you are right i looked it up and was a 4.3 like you said. sorry man

  • They never said that the engine in the cylone / typhoon was a 3.8...they said that the engine from the GNX ended up in those two vehicles in a newer modified form (and the trans Am and the supercharged bonneville / grand prix etc)....

    Its easy to change the displacement of an engine, you dont have to make a whole new engine, you just have to swap in new parts to modify the bore/stroke etc....

    Just because its got a different displacement doesnt make it a different engine.

  • you're technically right... but it really is a different engine. The 3.8 has a 60-degree vee angle, while the 4.3s in those trucks are 90-degree designs, based on the Chevy 350 V-8. No idea how C&D screwed that up.